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Past simple — events and states
הוצגהמיקום המנוהל נשמר בדפדפן הזה. המשך אינו משלים את השיעור או עונה על שאלותיו.
Talking about the past
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The past simple can report past events, states and repeated actions: I visited on Monday. She knew the route. We walked there each week. A past-time report does not by itself prove a situation is no longer true.
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I watched a film yesterday. We went to Beijing last year.
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Words such as yesterday, last week, … ago can locate the event. Outcome: tell what happened and preserve its time without inventing what is true now. Start with present-simple forms. Starting check: does I liked that book as a child prove I dislike it now? No.
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Allow about 45–60 minutes across sessions, including later review. This is a study suggestion, not a test duration or proficiency estimate.
I lost my keys yesterday; they did not write a postcard.
Regular verbs: add -ed
- Most verbs add -ed: work → worked, play → played.
- Ending in -e: add only -d → like → liked.
- Consonant + y: change y to i, add -ed → study → studied.
- These ordinary main-verb past forms stay the same across subjects: I worked, she worked. Be is different: I was, you were. Do not extend the worked pattern to every verb.
What is the past simple of “study”?
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Consonant + y → change y to i, then add -ed: study → studied.
For a regular verb ending in e, add d. Choose the past of like.
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Like becomes liked by adding d. The other spellings add extra letters. Next try: form lived from live.
Irregular verbs (learn these!)
- Many common verbs do not follow the regular -ed pattern:
- go → went, have → had, see → saw, get → got, make → made, eat → ate.
- Two more useful pairs are find → found and give → gave: I found a key and gave it to Jo. Learn useful forms in sentences and notice groups such as buy → bought, bring → brought. Some have the same spelling in present and past, as in put → put. A suffix test alone does not explain every verb.
Regular or irregular past?
Sort the past forms of these supplied verbs: walked/played/studied follow regular patterns, while went/saw/ate/bought use learned irregular forms. Be uses was/were; this is not a universal same-form rule.
Write the past simple of “go”.
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“go” is irregular: go → went (not “goed”).
Choose the learned irregular past of eat.
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Eat becomes ate in an ordinary past statement. Eated invents a regular form; eating is not that past form. Next try: use ate in a full past report.
Negatives & questions: did
- Negative: didn't + base verb → I didn't go.
- Question: Did + subject + base verb → Did you see it?
- After auxiliary did / didn't, use the base form: Did she go? She didn't go. Be uses Was she tired? She wasn't tired; a subject question can be Who called? without did.
Put the words in order to make a past question.
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This ordinary yes/no question uses Did you see the film? with auxiliary did and base see. Was she there? and the subject question Who saw it? use other patterns; not every past question needs did.
Translate into English: 我昨天看了一部电影。
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A finished past action → past simple: “I watched a film yesterday.”
Use did + subject + base verb. Choose the complete question.
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Did Jo go home? keeps base go after did. Went and goes do not fit there. Next try: give the negative with didn’t go.
Common mistakes
- For an ordinary report of that finished trip, use I went to Beijing last month, not I go to Beijing last month. This is the ordinary past-report pattern practised here; the time phrase tells the reader when the trip happened.
- Use the learned past form She bought a phone, not buyed. For a new verb, check its actual past form rather than guessing from one spelling rule.
- ❌ yesterday night → ✓ last night — but yesterday morning is fine.
Match the verb to its past simple.
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All irregular — learn them in pairs: buy → bought, think → thought, take → took, come → came.
Which sentence is correct?
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In the requested did-negative pattern, did carries the past marking and the following verb is base go. That does not mean every negative uses did: She wasn’t there uses be.
Use were before a plural subject for a past be-question.
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Were the visitors tired? uses plural were. Did were mixes frames; was does not agree in this ordinary plural model. Next try: give a short negative reply.
- Past simple can report past events, states or habits; the stated past time is not a complete account of what is true now.
- Regular verbs: + -ed; irregular verbs: learn each one.
- Ordinary main-verb negatives and yes/no questions use did / didn't + base; be and subject questions have other patterns. Later recall: tell a new past event and ask about it without adding an unsupported present result. Continue with present perfect. Choose the pattern that fits the verb and the question; do not apply did to every sentence.
Write one sentence about something you did yesterday. Use the past simple.
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Example: “I played basketball with my friends.” (play → played)
Use didn’t + base buy for a past negative.
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Didn’t buy keeps the base verb after auxiliary didn’t. Bought and buys do not fit that position. Next try: make the affirmative with bought.
Three worked contrasts
- Statement and did-question: Mia bought a ticket yesterday. Did Mia buy a ticket? Bought carries past marking in the statement; auxiliary did carries it in the question, with base buy. Near miss: Did Mia bought ...? repeats past marking in this frame. Repair it to Did Mia buy ...?
- Be and subject questions: Were the doors open? asks about a past state using be. Who opened the doors? asks which person did the action; who is its subject. Near miss: Did the doors were open? mixes frames. Use Were the doors open?; a fitting short negative answer is No, they weren’t.
- Past evidence and now: Jo liked the book as a child reports a past state; Jo walked to school each week that year reports repeated actions. Near miss: So Jo must dislike the book now adds a conclusion. Ask what Jo thinks now instead. Past simple covers more than a single finished action and does not supply every present fact.
Independent decisions
- Try the new situations without reopening the examples. Choose a complete ordinary past report, negative or question that keeps the stated facts. Check be separately and learn the actual irregular form; a suffix is not the whole test.
- After feedback, name the cause of an error: spelling/form, auxiliary pattern, agreement or an unsupported conclusion. Repair it and make another example. These written decisions do not measure spoken fluency.
Choose the standard past form of play.
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Play keeps y after a vowel and adds ed: played. The alternatives change the spelling incorrectly. Next try: contrast studied.
Choose the standard past form of work.
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Worked is the regular past form. Workted and workt are not its standard forms. Next try: use worked with she and then they.
Choose the complete ordinary past report with one named person.
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Studied fits this past statement. Study alone lacks past marking; did studied repeats it after an auxiliary. Next try: ask Did Rae study at home?
Choose the complete ordinary past report with a plural subject.
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Made is the learned past of make with a plural or singular subject. Makes is present and maked invents a form. Next try: describe one child instead.
Choose the learned past form of have for an ordinary past report.
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Had is the past form here. Has is present and haved is not the standard past form. Next try: report a past meal using had.
Choose the complete past-state report about one room.
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Singular room takes was in this ordinary be statement. Were gives the wrong agreement here; did was mixes frames. Next try: make it negative with wasn’t.
Choose the complete past-state report about two doors.
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Plural doors takes were. Was does not agree here and did were mixes patterns. Next try: ask whether the doors were open.
Choose the complete negative about a past event.
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Didn’t see uses base see after the past auxiliary. The alternatives retain saw or mix present do with a past form. Next try: make the positive with saw.
Choose the complete negative past be sentence.
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Wasn’t gives was not without did. The other options mix frames or place not incorrectly in this statement. Next try: ask Was Mia at the meeting?
Choose the complete ordinary did-question.
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Did you eat breakfast? keeps base eat after did. Ate is not the form used after that auxiliary. Next try: give a short yes reply.
Choose the complete past be-question about a plural subject.
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Were they ready? uses were before they. Did were mixes frames and was does not agree here. Next try: make a full negative reply.
A friend asks, “Did Rae call?” You know she did. Choose the matching short reply.
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Yes, she did matches the did-question. Was answers another pattern and called did does not form this short reply. Next try: give its negative short reply.
A friend asks, “Were the shops open?” You know they were closed. Choose the matching short reply.
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No, they weren’t matches plural were and the stated closed condition. Didn’t answers another frame; wasn’t lacks agreement. Next try: give a full sentence.
Choose the standard subject question asking which person called yesterday.
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Who called yesterday? uses who as the subject. The other choices add an auxiliary while retaining called. Next try: answer with a person’s name.
A diary says, “I liked that song as a child.” Which conclusion is supported?
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The diary supplies the past opinion, not the present opinion or memory. The other conclusions add facts. Next try: ask what the writer thinks now.
A report says, “We walked there every Friday that term.” What does it describe?
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Every Friday that term gives past repetition. Past simple can report it without establishing the current routine. Next try: ask about this term separately.
The verb put has the same spelling in present and past. Which is a standard past report?
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Put is also the learned past form. Putted and puted do not form put meaning place here. Next try: ask Did you put it there?
Choose the standard time phrase for the night before today.
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Last night is the ordinary expression practised here. Yesterday morning also works for the morning; that does not make yesterday night the standard equivalent. Next try: report something from yesterday morning.
Choose the standard time phrase for the morning before today.
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Yesterday morning is the ordinary phrase for that morning. The other options combine time expressions incorrectly. Next try: contrast last night.
A report says only, “The museum was closed on Monday.” Which claim preserves that information?
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The report establishes Monday’s state. It does not give today’s opening or permanent closure. Next try: ask whether it is open today.
Transfer: a visit report
- Write the given museum visit as an English past report. Keep the closed museum, the tickets not bought and the later café visit; do not invent an exhibition visit.
- Attempt before opening the model, then compare facts and complete verb frames. Repair one real mismatch; a different natural sentence order can preserve the same sequence.
A diary records only this: on Sunday, Jo went to the station but did not buy a ticket. Which summary stays within the facts?
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Went and didn’t buy preserve the recorded visit and negative event. Boarding and a general travel habit are not established. Next try: ask what Jo did after the station visit.
Visit notes: time—yesterday; people—you and Jo; first destination—a museum; museum status—closed; ticket purchases—none by either person; next destination—a nearby café. Turn these notes into three or four English past-simple sentences. Preserve the sequence and do not invent an exhibition visit. Compare and revise.
Compare your English with the facts, model and checklist. Repair a real form or meaning mismatch, or explain why none is present. Several answers can fit; self-review does not automatically establish correctness or proficiency.
Recall later
- Tomorrow, recall one regular form, one irregular form and the difference between did and be questions. Try the later-review decisions and the new written report without rereading first.
- Continue with present perfect to compare past reporting with situations connected to now. A question can seek missing information without supplying an answer; self-review is not automatic correctness or independent mastery.
Usage guidance checked 2026-10-20: British Council, past simple. Local source checks; independent language, answer and learner review pending.
Review later: choose the complete ordinary question using did and buy.
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Did Lea buy the book? keeps base buy. Bought and buys do not fit after auxiliary did. Next try: write the negative reply as a full sentence.
Review later: “I knew the route last year” is the only evidence. Which conclusion fits?
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The statement supplies past knowledge without establishing whether it continues. Both must claims add unsupported facts. Next try: ask whether the writer knows the route now.
Return later without rereading. Notes: time—last Friday; discovery—a wallet outside the library; person finding it—you; handover—to a teacher; teacher’s phone contact with the owner—unknown. Write two English past-simple fact sentences, then ask a past-simple question about phoning the owner. Leave its answer open. Compare and revise.
Compare your English with the facts, model and checklist. Repair a real form or meaning mismatch, or explain why none is present. Several answers can fit; self-review does not automatically establish correctness or proficiency.